Centenarian: Agnethe “Neta” Rattenborg
Agnethe “Neta” Rattenborg, 103 years old When you walk into Agnethe “Neta” Rattenborg’s room, one of the first things you’ll notice is the collection of blue and white china plates decorating the walls. “The plates highlight different landmarks around the world; her favorites are the scenes from Copenhagen. “Well, I’m from Denmark,” she says by way of […]
Centenarian: Marie Bertsch
Marie Bertsch, 106 years old After Marie Bertsch graduated college in 1942, she worked as a registered dietitian — and became endlessly bored. She worked at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, then Children’s Memorial, and finally the University of Illinois’ Research and Educational Hospitals before she’d had enough. To fight the boredom, Marie went to Joliet […]
Centenarian: Miriam Barinholtz
Miriam Barinholtz, 101 years old At Miriam Barinholtz’s sweet-16 birthday party, she met her husband. He was 17 at the time. Miriam attended Marshall High School in Chicago, and the two married five years later when Miriam turned 21. That same year, Miriam joined the Navy. She and her husband relocated to Oklahoma, where she worked […]
Centenarian: Naomi Haynes
Naomi Haynes, 102 years old Hyde Park resident Naomi Haynes has always wanted to see the Great Pyramids of Giza. They’re on her bucket list, she says, but at 102, she doesn’t know that she’ll make it there. Not that she hasn’t traveled — one of Naomi’s most memorable experiences was walking the Great Wall […]
Centenarian: Mary Holtzblatt
Mary Holtzblatt, 102 years old Before Mary Holtzblatt married her husband David and raised their three children in Chicago, she worked as a nurse’s aide in a hospital during World War II. After the war, she began working at a doctor’s office. She always devoted herself to others. Ellen and Pam, Mary’s daughters, say that […]
Centenarian: Thama Cook
Thama Cook, 101 years old When Thama Cook graduated high school in the tiny town of Pennington, Texas, she became the first in her family to attend college and later earn a master’s degree. It was likely the first master’s degree in the town, as Pennington had fewer than 200 people, and most were Thama’s […]
Centenarian: Joseph Leone
Joseph Leone, 103 years old As a child, Joseph Leone went into the alley behind his home on Racine Avenue in Chicago, found some smashed cans, and nailed them onto the soles of his shoes to create tap shoes. He wanted to teach himself to dance. When the cans lost their tap luster, he returned […]